Movie Reviews by Edwin Jahiel

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)

Directed by Lewis Milestone. Adapted from the classic novel by Erich Maria Remarque, about the experience, during The Great War (WWI), of a young German soldier (Lew Ayres) and his comrades (Louis Wolheim, Slim Summerville, et al.) Impressive, eloquent, sad, very realistic, this still remains one of the best anti-war films. Fluid camera work and excellent use of the still-newfangled sound. It became an instant success, was widely considered to be the first masterpiece among American talkies. Several nominations, with Oscars for Best Picture and Director. The original film ran well over 2 hours. Later it was thought to be too strong medicine and 35 minutes were excised from the 1939 re-release. In the 1980s it was restored to almost its full original length. Videos are about 130 minutes. (Edwin Jahiel)